Review of “The Sins of Scripture” by John Shelby Spong

The Sins of Scripture is not the first book by John Shelby Spong I have read.  It all began for me with Living in Sin: A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality, then it was Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture, and finally his book, Born of A Woman: A Bishop Rethinks the Virgin Birth and the Role of Women in a Male Dominated Church.  These are only a few of the books Spong, who retired as Bishop of Newark in 2000, has written.  His provocative and challenging titles, and content, have sparked controversy throughout the Christian world, particularly fundamentalist and conservative evangelical Christianity.  However, I believe it is important for Christians of all varieties to at least give the former Bishop a hearing.  For Christians to read and study only those writings, theologians, and biblical interpreters with which we agree serves only to stagnate our life and faith as followers of Jesus.  There needs to be a lot of “rethinking” going on but Spong can be difficult to work through if you are committed to the concept of a literal, perfect Bible that flowed straight from the hand of God and are not willing to re-think this idea.

In The Sins of Scripture, Spong takes on the biblical texts that we have often misused in our world to justify injustice, hatred, the mistreatment of the planet, child abuse, sexism, Anti-Semitism, and violence (among many other things).  He explores, in depth, those passages which have been misused throughout history.  For Spong, however, it is not just a matter of these texts being misinterpreted, but that the text themselves do not truly reflect “God’s Word.”  Spong challenges this understanding of Biblical texts because no matter how you re-interpret or re-think these passages, their very presence in the Bible suggest that there is a fundamental problem with understanding the Bible as God’s Word – especially in a literal sense.  Spong would suggest that Christianity’s stubborn attachment to this idea of the Bible being “God’s Word” and therefore perfect will either have to change or the religion of Christianity as we know it now will die.  Spong argues that these questionable texts reflect the prejudices of the writers who wrote from their own cultural perspectives which involved a limited understanding of the realities of science, human biology, and human relationships.  Spong says, “The use of the Bible to justify our prejudices must be abandoned” (p. 297).

For many, Spong’s understanding and interpretation of the Bible means that he has no respect for it but this is not the case in Spong’s view.  He believes that Christians being more honest about the biblical text and being able to critique it, keeping in mind how it came to be formed in the first place, is the best way to respect its original and intended purposes.   One of Spong’s most telling lines comes on page 217 of the book where he says, “Its darkest and most brutal side becomes visible at the moment when the adherents of any religious system identify their understanding of God with God.“  It is important that we do not arrogantly assume that our interpretation of Christianity’s sacred writings is indeed God’s intention.  Not only should we “test the spirits” as the Bible suggests, we should also hold the biblical account of things to the test as well.  Some would argue that this is “testing God,” however, Spong would probably say that to suggest that these “terrible texts,” as he calls them, are of God is a misrepresentation of God.  Spong concludes his book with:

We have entered into the consciousness of God.  That is what it means to discover that we are now God’s dwelling place.  There is no supernatural deity beyond the sky working miracles.  There is only a God-infused humanity through whom the Source of Life, the Source of Love and the Ground of Being lives.  We are the God-bearers of the world.  We must rise to our new vocation and be God for one another.

Many Christians will have a tough time reading Spong’s book, if for no other reason, because he questions and dismisses any God that lives outside of the human self.  He would suggest that it is this self that understands and creates the God in whom we want to believe.  Whether you agree with Spong or not, he makes an important contribution to the dialogue about the development of Christianity in the present and it’s future.  He opens wide the gates of discussion on the important matter of understanding the scriptures.  He has indeed taught me a great deal and I greatly respect his gumption and willingness to boldly state what many people today believe but feel the need to hide because they fear being judged, exposed, criticized, or even fired from their ministry positions or church leadership positions.

If you are squeamish about people criticizing the biblical text and about reading things you don’t agree with, you might steer away from reading this book.  For fundamentalist of any faith tradition and conservative evangelicals, Spong’s ideas would be especially troubling but I believe what he has to say should be heard and discussed with reason and civility.

Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas

by Elaine Pagels

The title of this book was somewhat misleading. While there is some discussion of the Gospel of Thomas, one of the works discovered at Nag Hammadi, Pagels devotes most of the book to the exploration of the development of orthodoxy in the early Christian church. The question she seems to be encouraging the reader to explore is “How do we discern spiritual truth?” Using works discovered at Nag Hammadi such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary and the Gospel of Phillip Pagels explores the diversity of ideas that existed within the Christian Community in the first three centuries following Jesus’ death. She spends a lot of time making the argument that Irenaeus, one of the early church fathers in Gaul, promoted the Gospel of John as presenting the ‘true’ representation of Jesus’ teachings in order to unite a community of faith that had suffered persecution and was threatened by what Irenaeus believed to be heretical interpretations of Jesus’ teachings.

If you are looking for a reassuring read that will reinforce an orthodox Christian worldview then this is not the book for you. In exploring the diversity of thought that existed amongst early followers of Jesus, Pagels brings to light the parallels that exist between that time early in the church’s history and this postmodern era in which we are living. Perhaps at no time since orthodoxy was established as the norm of Christian faithfulness have there been so many people who love Jesus asking the question ‘how do we discern spiritual truth?’. Pagels asserts that Irenaeus answered that question by insisting upon his belief that Matthew, Mark, Luke and particularly John tell the ‘truth’ about Jesus and that other contemporary gospels such as the those of Thomas and Mary were distortions.   The Gospel of John, which Pagels asserts may have been written specifically to counter the Gospel of Thomas, emphasizes the divinity of Jesus while Thomas and other writers of the time emphasized the humanity of Jesus. John presents Jesus as teaching that it is only through Jesus that one can have access to divine truth. Thomas presents Jesus as declaring himself in solidarity with humanity and teaching his disciples that divine truth can be discovered by looking within oneself.

Irenaeus insistence that there is only one way to think rightly, i.e., orthodoxy, lent stability to the early church and laid the groundwork for the tradition later known “sola scriptura” or the reliance upon “only scripture”(as opposed to church tradition or personal revelation) as the test of truth.   Many young people raised in this postmodern era see the Bible as a book of truth not the book of truth which raises a challenge to the evangelical church which has tended to use the “Bible tells me so” argument as the test for discerning divine truth.  In the current postmodern culture, followers of Jesus will be challenged to speak authentically and with authority citing both their personal experience with a living Christ as well as the testimony of the Bible as they seek to bear witness to the transformational power of God.

Pomo’s (postmodern’s) are more comfortable with mystery, diversity, and more interested in genuine faith than ‘right’ belief. I grew up in a homogeneous culture in which we believed there was absolute truth that could be known absolutely. My children are growing up in a culture in which they are being exposed to and taught to respect people of other faiths who may believe genuinely and passionately some very different spiritual truth. They have to learn to reconcile what Jesus says in the Gospel of John about being the ‘only’ way to God with what their Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu friends believe about the path to God. Understanding more about the formation of the Bible and the diversity of thought that existed amongst believers in the early church might help them do that.

As I read this book I found myself thinking that it was too bad that so early in the church’s history there was a division which forced believers, in a sense, to choose to trust either their own experience or the witness of the scripture. In my experience, discerning spiritual truth involves listening to scripture, to tradition, to the community of faith and to the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of me.

I recommend this book to those who want to learn more about early Christian thought, the formation of the Bible and who are prepared to be challenged.

Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen

by Julie Powell, Audio Version, Read by the Author

If you are a serious foodie looking for a fix this may not be the book for you. If you are a foodie that loves to cook but often struggles to find ingredients, understand culinary terms or improvise with equipment, you will enjoy Julie Powell’s account of her quest to make all of the recipes from Julia Child’s The Art of French Cooking in one year. Ms. Powell had moved to NYC from Texas to be an actor but ended up temping as a secretary after 9/11. She felt stagnant and unclear about her career path and so embarked on the cooking quest as a way to challenge herself. The book draws upon her blog entries for that year and is as much about her life, relationships, and personal struggles as it is about cooking. The book has the feel of a blog and is unpretentious, funny and honest. FYI, there is a lot of cursing in the book so if you are uncomfortable with more earthy expressions of frustration this is not the book for you. Recommended with the reservations noted above.

Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith

By Anne Lamott, Audio Version, Read by the Author

It’s very refreshing to read an honest account of someone else’s struggle to make sense of life through the lens of their faith.  Anne Lamott’s collection of essays do just that with the added bonus being that she is a gifted writer with a dry and engaging sense of humor.  She can laugh at herself and communicate with authenticity and candor about her own failings as a mother, friend and disciple of Jesus.  Just so you know, most conservative evangelicals will have a problem with her politics and her stance on some controversial issues but her obvious love of Jesus and tenacious hold on a hard won faith shine through.  I was particularly taken with the way she takes ordinary, everyday occurrences and finds the moments of transcendence and insight.  I felt challenged to think and reflect more deeply on my own experiences to find the glimpses of the holy.  Highly recommended to anyone who claims membership in the church of the miserably human.

The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness by Karen Armstrong

Karen Armstrong’s memoir, The Spiral Staircase, is an inspiring story of her continual spiritual searching, first through the convent, which she entered at seventeen, then through intellectual study and writing, and finally as she writes about and explores not only the Christian religious tradition, but other religious traditions as well - particularly the Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.

Ms. Armstrong leaves the convent after seven difficult years of beating herself up, as well as being beaten up, spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally.  She goes there seeking to find intimacy and connection with God, but for her, in that place, it just doesn’t happen as the convent’s structure lays out for her how it should happen.  Upon leaving the convent, Ms. Armstrong then has to face the outside world, a world which she had been isolated from, all while facing the reality of her loss of faith and eventual dismissal of God’s existence.  Karen discovers over these years that she has epilepsy, which for her finally explained a lot of what was happening to her in her convent years and beyond as she found herself having black outs about how she had come to be places, passing out, and having dizzy spells.

It was only when she began to explore comparative religions that she became open to a genuine return to spirituality that always seemed to be there just below the surface.  The spirituality she finds later, which is not a return to the orthodoxy, dogmas and doctrines of her early years, is bathed more in compassion.  She writes:

     Compassion has been advocated by all the great faiths  because it has been found to be the safest and surest means of attaining enlightenment.  It dethrones the ego from the center of our lives and puts others there, breaking down the carapace of selfishness that holds us back from an experience of the sacred. (p. 296)

As a Christian who does believe in the existence of God, I found myself being pulled deeper and deeper into her stuggle because she was asking many of the same questions that even I ask, but my conclusions, to this point, have not brought me to denying God’s existence.  As I read, I found myself routing for her.  I kept thinking, there’s going to be a “turning” at some point.  How inspirational can her story be without a “turning back.”  Then I came to chapter eight called, “To Turn Again.”  I thought, “Okay, here we go.  She’s going to come back to faith.  The stars will all line up.  She’ll become the Christian that I expect her to become.  And all will be right with the world.”  However, that’s not what I got.  And I am pleased that she did not say what I had expected her to say.

In the end, Ms. Armstrong comes to a renewed understanding of her spirituality that moves away from what one might call “right belief,” or orthodoxy, and discovers that it is more truly in the practicing of a faith that one might feel more intimate and deeply connected with God.  She writes:

The one and only test of a valid religious idea, doctrinal statement, spiritual experience, or devotional practice was that it must lead directly to practical compassion.  If your understanding of the divine made you kinder, more empathetic, and impelled you to express this sympathy in concrete acts of loving-kindness, this was good theology.  But if your notion of God made you unkind, belligerent, cruel, or self-righteous, or if it led you to kill in God’s name, it was bad theology (p. 293).

The faith and spiritual life we have must manifest itself in practical expression in our lives.  This is not something that is unbiblical.  It is something Jesus teaches and that finds expression in Ms. Armstrong’s own story.  Although she does not come back around to the kind of faith and spirituality many orthodox Christians might want from her, primarily because much of what we Christians expect is based on orthodox belief, Karen Armstrong says much to Christians that we need to hear.  She offers a great challenge to an apathetic faith that suggest that if we just say the right things then we are somehow in God’s graces.  She acknowledges the great value of spiritual disciplines that when continually made part of our lives helps us to more closely live in more intimate relationship with our God and in more compassionate relationship with one another.

I encourage everyone to read her story for themselves but I would warn Christians who think they have it all figured out and have God packaged neatly in a box – this may not be the book for you – or maybe it’s the perfect book for you.

Reflections on Mark Scandrette’s book, Soul Graffiti: Making A Life in the Way of Jesus

Reading Mark Scandrette’s book Soul Graffiti: Making A Life in the Way of Jesus led me to feel humbled, challenged, guilty, and anxious about how I should change, excited about possibilities, and just in general,